| A week after the Mumbai blasts, I had to take a flight out of Delhi to travel to Hong Kong and Singapore. Having previously observed the effects of the "red alerts" that typify the knee-jerk response of our governments after every such incident, I was prepared to spend some extra time at the airport going through the security procedures. What I was not prepared for was a good two-hour wait in the queue at the security (no exaggeration on the time), leading to delay in all take-offs (and in the process, missing my onward connection from Singapore to Hong Kong (like hundreds of others on various other flights). That our airports are amongst the worst in the world is no state secret. What saddened me was the utter lack of coordination and organisation at the airport itself, which demonstrates the deplorable mediocrity (and lack of application of basic intelligence) that has seeped in all facets of our life in India. On that night, two of the departure gates were closed (for reasons best known to the airport authorities), and while the manual frisking was expected to add minutes to delay, it would have been logical to enhance the number of personnel doing the job so that the queues were minimised. As expected, of course, Singapore airport and the Singapore Airlines were a model of efficiency when I finally landed there two hours late""a fresh boarding pass for a later flight was ready, a request to inform my Hong Kong hotel for change in my airport pick-up timings was done, and a staff member from Singapore Airlines at Hong Kong even personally expedited the clearance from the airport. |
| On that same trip, I ended up visiting over 20 different offices over a span of three days and was amazed to observe how dramatic has been the improvement in the overall quality of infrastructure, office space, and general facilities in and outside those offices in these two cities. Having seen a few new buildings that are coming up now in Mumbai (for a new office for our own company), I was saddened to contrast the difference in standards even for the new developments in India. |
| Dilution of quality standards seems quite acceptable not only to our politicians and bureaucrats but even to many of our private enterprises. Probably, we justify lowering such standards, either explicitly or implicitly, believing that we are a Third World country, and hence we have to be content with minimum acceptable standards rather than developed world norms. There are many countries in the world that are still "emerging". Comparison with China has to be made in this context. Yet, China is not embarrassed in not just aspiring to be "amongst the best" but by actually setting standards that others will find it difficult to emulate. The quality and the cutting edge of design in its public/private architecture have to be seen to be awestruck. The newly commissioned Tibetan railroad is not only an engineering feat but also looks (from the pictures) visually exciting. The highway standards are comparable to the European ones, and the list continues. |
| In India, we seem to take a perverse pride in repeatedly driving home the message that we are a poor country. Even in metros, there are no (high) standards for public facilities such as the taxis (why stick to dilapidated Maruti Vans and Indicas and Premiers? Why not make Corollas and Optras the mandatory minimum quality vehicle to serve as taxis? Will the customers not pay an extra rupee or two per km for a better ride?). Despite the increasing ownership of private cars, no one is putting pressure on the builders coming out with new facilities""whether commercial or residential""to provide for adequate parking spaces at least in all future constructions. Even in the more modern Gurgaon suburb, the biggest and most reputed builders get away with providing merely one car park per 1,000 square feet of office space, whereas the same space would probably have 12-15 employees and hence need a provision of maybe 3-4 cars per 1,000 square feet of space? Beyond infrastructure, poor quality (by international standards) is seen almost everywhere. For example, our packaging quality (especially for personal care products and for processed food products) is nowhere close to what one can see on the shelves in the West. The quality of furniture in public and private spaces is another area where the gap is glaring. And this list can go on and on. |
| In my view, India has many good things going for it. In the next 20 years, there is no reason why India will not be amongst the strongest, most vibrant economies of the world. We can start reflecting this confidence by demonstrating that while as a nation we have some distance to cover, we are on the way. Let us upgrade our norms and quality standards for whatever is being built or produced now. Let us not justify mediocrity but in our own way""individually, and as managers of public or private enterprises""strive to raise the bar higher each day. We may currently be a Third World country but at least we should dream of being "First World"! |
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